Support for shifting shuttle box mechanisms



0a, 27, 1942. B. w. BROUW-ER 2,300,199

SUPPORT FOR SHIFTING SHUTTLE BOX MECHANISM Filed April 2,' 1942 FIB-.1FIE"? |NVENTOR BENJAMIN W. Emouwen AT'TORNEY Patented Oct. 27, 1942SUPPORT FOR SHIFTING SHUTTLE BOX MECHANISMS Benjamin W.

Brouwer, Auburn, Mass, assignor to Crompton & Knowles Loom Works,Worcester, Mass,

a corporation of Massachusetts Application April 2, 1942, Serial No.437,420

7 Claims.

This invention relates to improvements in shifting shuttle boxmechanisms for looms and it is the general object of the invention toprovide means for supporting the shifting shuttle boxes to arrestvibration thereof and give additional support to them at those times inthe cycle of the loom operations during which weft replenishment canoccur.

In filling mixing weft replenishing looms of a type which has recentlygone into use shifting shuttle boxes are located at each end of the loomto cooperate with a set of shuttles which follow each other in rotation.The shuttle boxes at the replenishing end of the loom are shifted by ayieldable actuator which operates on a fourpick cycle to hold the boxesdown for two successive picks and then up for the next pair of picks.Replenishment occurs when the shuttle boxes are raised and the lattershould be temporarily at rest with respect to the lay to insure completemovement of the incoming bobbin into the shuttle in the upper box. It isan important object of my present invention to provide means to givesupport to the shuttle boxes additional to that derived from theyieldableactuator to prevent their vibration with respect to the lay andhold them temporarily at rest relatively to the lay so that shouldreplenishment occur the full bobbin can be moved completely into thedepleted shuttle by the transfer mechanism.

In my prior Patent No. 2,263,261 I have shown a bobbin chute connectedto the shuttle boxes and the box lifter rod in such a way that thelifting force for the boxes is transmitted through the bobbin chute. Itis a further object of my present invention to provide the bobbin chutewith means to cooperate with the aforesaid support.

The bunter which actuates the transferrer latch is customarily mountedon the shifting shuttle box mechanism in looms of the type to which myinvention more particularly relates, being generally secured to thefloor of the top box. It is another object of my present invention toconnect the box carried bunter to the bobbin chute so that the latterwill support the hunter.

In looms of the type mentioned the lower shuttle box is always emptywith its binder in shuttle checking position during a replenishingoperation. Before the shuttle boxes start to descend subsequent to areplenishing operation a second shuttle enters the lower box to move thebinder outwardly, or forwardly as shown sleeve and is hereinafter. It isanother object of my present invention to provide a support for thebobbin chute to be controlled by the binder of the lower shuttle box insuch a way that when the lower box is empty the support can move intocooperative relation with respect to the bobbin chute, but when ashuttle enters the lower box the binder will move the support away fromcooperating relationship with respect to the bobbin chute,

With these and other objects in view which will appear as thedescription proceeds, my invention resides in the combination andarrangement of parts hereinafter described and set forth.

In the accompanying drawing, wherein a convenient embodiment of myinvention is set forth,

Fig. l is a front elevation of the shuttle boxes, actuating mechanismtherefor, and the support forming the subject matter of my presentinvention,

Fig. 2 is an enlargement of the shuttle boxes and support shown in Fig.1,

Fig. 3 is a vertical section on line 3-3 of Fig. 2, and

Fig. 4 is a perspective view of a portion of the shuttle boxes showingthe transfer latch operating bunter,'the bobbin chute and the supportfor the latter.

7 Referring particularly to Fig. 1, I have shown a loom frame I 0 andlayll which swings back and forth on a rocker shaft I2. A rocker foot I3secured to shaft l2 has slidably mounted therein a sleeve l4 attached atits lower end to a connector l5 which extends upwardly over a sheave l6rotatably mounted on the lay. From sheave I6 the chain moves towell-known operating mechanism, such as a Knowles head not shown, whichpulls on and releases a chain l'l forming part of connector l5 to raiseand lower the sleeve. A box rod 20 extending through the sleeve M hasthe lower end thereof provided with a collar 2| for engagement with thebottom of the sleeve. The rod extends upwardly fromthe attached as at 22to a bobbin chute 23. A spring 24 surrounding the box lifter rod islocated between the top of sleeve l4 and the bobbin chute. When theconnector sleeve I4 an upward force is through the spring 24 to thebobbin l5 raises the ried by the lay, the spring 24 will be compressedtransmitted 1 chute, andunder ordinary conditions the spring is sufii-'to prevent breakage of the shuttle as the sleeve rises.

The shuttle box gang G comprises upper and lower shuttle boxes and 3|,respectively, which may be made as indicated in Figs. 2 and 3 with a boxback 32 having depending lugs 33 which are secured as at 34 to lugs 35on the bobbin chute. The upper box 3|] has a horizontal top 35 securedto the back 32 while the lower box has a floor 36 also secured to theback 32. An intermediate shelf or floor 31 secured to and extendingforwardly from the back 32 provides'the floor for the top box and thetop for the bottom box. The lay end 38 secured to the lay has inner andouter box guides 40 and 4| to guide the gang G as it moves verticallywith respect to the lay.

The loom is provided with weft replenishing mechanism a portion of whichis indicated in Figs. 2 and 3. This mechanism comprises a frame securedto the loom frame in front of the shuttle boxes and carrying a stud 43on which the transferrer arm 41 is pivoted. A dog or latch 48 is pivotedto-the transferrer arm at andis normally in down position but can beraised by a connector to to transfer position when a replenishingoperation of the loom is to occur. A reserve bobbin B will be under thetransferrer arm-at the time of transfer to be moved downwardly intoshuttle S in the upper shuttle box when the latter is raised. At thetime of replenishment the depleted bobbin from the shuttle S will movedownwardly through the temporarily empty shuttle box 3| and between theright and left hand flanges 52 and 53, respectively, of the bobbin chutetoward a bobbin can not shown.

The matter thus far described of itself'forms no part of my presentinvention and may be made and operated as set forth in my previouslymentioned patent.

In carrying my present invention into effect I provide the lay end 38with a stand bolted thereto and carrying a stud 6| on which is pivotedan upwardly projecting support lever '62. A spring 63 having one'endsecured to the'lever B2 and the other end held by a collar 64 on thestud tends to move the lever 62 rearwardly'or in a right hand directionas viewed in Fig. 3. Lever 62 is provided with a supporting finger orarm 65 to extend under a lug 66 cast on and projecting from the left offlange 53 of the bobbin chute. The upper end of lever '62 is providedwith a head 10 havinga rearwardly'projecting nose H which overhangsfloor 36 of box 3| and is positioned for engagement with the binder 12of the lower'shuttle'box 3|. The head is provided with an upwardly andforwardly extending incline 13 with the floor 31 of the upper shuttlebox. Lever 62 has a rear surface 14 belowan'd forward of the nose forengagement with floor 31 when the boxes are down.

Secured to the lug 66 is an upwardly extending rod 15 which extendsthrough the shelf or floor '31 and a wing 16 of the bunter 18. Upper andlower nuts 19 andflil, respectively, secure the wing 16 to floor'31 andthe latter to rod 15. Rod 15 is threaded into lug 66, see Fig. 4, andanut 8| on the rod under lug 66 cooperates withthe latter to secure therod to the lug. The bunter has 'a' right hand wing 82 for attachment asat 83 to the floor '31. Between the wings is located the bunterproperdesignated at 84 and provided with an operating "edge f85 forcooperation with the latch -48. The bunter. is thus fastened to thefloor 31 and rises and falls with the-shuttle boxes positioned forengagement and is the means by which force is transmitted from the layto the transferrer mechanism. The bunter will be in high position whenthe boxes are raised during a transferring operation of the loom andwill be in low position when the shuttle boxes have dropped to permitpicking of the replenished shuttle S. While I have shown a rod 15connected to the bunter mechanism I do not wish necessarily to belimited to this particular construction, inasmuch as it is sufiicientfor certain purposes of my invention if the rod 15 is connected to thefloor 31 of box 30.

In operation, the boxes will rise and fall as already described, risingwhen the lay is in the forward part of its stroke and being in fullyraised position on the next forward stroke of the lay. When the upwardshift is completed a shuttle in the lower box 3| is picked out to theopposite end of the loom and the binder 1| will move rearwardly to theshuttle checking position shown in Fig. 3. The lever 62 will thereforemove rearwardly with the binder under the action of spring 63 to movethe supporting finger "65 under 'the lug 63. Since lever '62 is pivotedto a part fixed with respect to the lay end, the bobbin chute willtemporarily be held against downward motion with respect to the lay bythe parts 65 and 66. This operation occurs regularly during loomoperation and if transfer should'occur during the aforesaid secondforward beat of the lay the lever 62 will support the bobbin chute andthe latter, acting through rod 15, will support floor 31 to preventvibration or-downward motion of the shuttle boxes. During the third-forward Y beat of the lay, or the one occurring subsequent to transfer,a shuttle will enter the lower box to move the binder 12 forwardly, theeffect of which is to move the finger'65 forwardly from under lug 66.This operation occurs prior to the time in the loom cycle when theconnector I5 operates to effect lowering of the shuttle boxes, and thelatter are therefore free to descend without'interference on the part ofthe lever 62. Should the forward part of theshelf '31 overhang the nose1| as the boxes descend it will engage the inclined surface 13 and givethe lever an additional forward motion. As the boxes move to theirlowest position the lever'62 will move rearwardly until surface 14engages floor 31. The lever will remain in this position, see dottedlines of Fig. 4, until the boxes start to rise, whereupon floor 31 willengage rearwardly and upwardly extending incline 81 connecting nose 1|with surface 14 and rock lever 62 forwardly. Further ascent of floor 31will permit nose 1| to move rearwardly toward binder -12.

From the foregoing *it will be seen that Ihave provided simple means forproviding'temporary support for the shifting shuttle boxes during thatpoint in the cycle of loom operations when transfer can occur. 'It willfurther'be seen that the support is controlled by the-binder of thelower box and cooperates with the-bottom chute which is directlyconnected to the lower shuttle box-and is connected to the floor 31 byrod 15, hence when finger 65 is under lug 66 the entire box and chutestructure is temporarily held against downward motion with respect tothe lay. It will further be seen that the rod 15 assists in holding thebunter mechanism fixed to the floor 31 and that because of thisconstruction the bunter derives temporary support from lever '32 duringthe transferring operation and cannot move-downwardly with respect tothe latch pivot 49. The rod 15 and the parts associated with it are notclaimed herein but are being made the subject matter of a divisionalapplication, and the claims of the present application are restricted tothe lock member and the bobbin chute.

Having thus described myinvention it will be seen that changes andmodifications may be made therein by those skilled in the art withoutdeparting from the spirit and scope of the invention and I do not wishto be limited to the details herein disclosed, but what I claim is:

1. In a loom having' a lay provided with a pair of shuttle boxes whichare shifted vertically by a downwardly yieldable actuator and whereinprovision is made for downward replenishment of a shuttle in the uppershuttle box while the lower shuttle box is empty and the shuttle binderof the latter is in the path of a shuttle entering the lower box, abobbin chute secured to the under side of the shuttle boxes and movingvertically with the latter and connected to the yieldable actuator totransmit a lifting force from the actuator to the shuttle boxes, a leverpivoted on the lay and having an arm to engage the shuttle binder of thelower shuttle box, means tending to move the lever toward said binder,and cooperating locking parts on said lever and bobbin chute in positionfor mutual engagement when the binder is in said path of a shuttleentering the lower box to prevent downward motion of the bobbin chuteand shuttle boxes with respect to the lay, said binder effective to movethe lever to disengage said cooperating parts when a shuttle enters saidlower box andmoves the binder.

2. In a loom having a lay provided with a pair of shuttle boxes whichare shifted vertical- 1y by a downwardly yieldable actuator and whereinprovision is made for downward replenishment of a shuttle in the uppershuttle box while the lower shuttle box is empty and the shuttle binderof the latter is in the path of a shuttle entering the lower box, abobbin chute secured to the under side of the shuttle boxes and movingvertically with the latter and connected to the yieldable actuator to atransmit a lifting force from the actuator to the shuttle boxes, a locklever pivotally mounted on the lay, means tending to move said looktoward said shuttle binder, and cooperating parts on said lever andbobbin chute in mutually engaging position when said binder is in saidshuttle path to prevent downward movement of the chute and boxesrelatively to the lay, entry of a shuttle into said lower box moving thebinder and causing the latter to move the lever and said cooperatingparts out of engaging position with respect to each other.

3. In a loom having a lay provided with a pair of shuttle boxes whichare shifted vertically by a downwardly yieldable actuator and whereinprovision is made for downward replenishment of a shuttle in the uppershuttle box while the lower shuttle box is empty and the shuttle binderof the latter is in the path of a shuttle entering the lower box, abobbin chute secured to the under side of the shuttle boxes and movingvertically with the latter and connected to the yieldable actuator totransmit a lifting force from the actuator to the shuttle boxes, a stopon said bobbin chute, a member supported by the lay in position forengagement by said shuttle binder, a stop on said member, and means tomove said member to cause interengagement of said stops when the shuttlebinder is in said shuttle path to prevent downward movement of theshuttle upper shuttle box while the lower shuttle box is empty. and theshuttle binder of said lower box is in the path of a shuttle enteringthe lower box, a bobbin chute secured to the under side of the shuttleboxes and connected to said'actuator, a lock member pivoted to the layin position for engagement with and movement by the shuttle binder,cooperating parts on said member and said bobbin chute to be in mutuallyengaging position to prevent downward movement of the shuttle boxes withrespect to the lay when the shuttle binder is in said shuttle path,entry of a shuttle into the lower shuttle box moving the binder andcausing the latter to move said member to cause relative movement ofsaid cooperating parts to non-engaging position, and a cam on saidmember for engagement with said fioor of the upper shuttle box as theshuttle boxes descend to move said member out of the path of thedescending floor.

5. In a loom having a lay provided with a pair of shuttle boxesseparated by a floor for the upper box and a vertically shiftabledownwardly yieldable actuator, the loom having provision for downwardreplenishment of the shuttle in the upper shuttle box while the lowershuttle box is empty and the shuttle binder of said lower box is in thepath of a shuttle entering the lower box, a bobbin chute secured to theunder side of the shuttle boxes and connected to said actuator, a lockmember pivoted to the lay in position for engagement with and movementby the shuttle binder, cooperating parts on said member and said.bobbinchute to be in mutually engaging position to prevent downward movementof the shuttle boxes with respect to the lay when the shuttle binder isin said shuttle path, entry of a shuttle into the lower shuttle boxmoving the binder and causing the latter to move said member to causerelative movement of said cooperating parts to non-engaging position,and means on said member presenting a surface extending upwardly andforwardly from said binder for engagement with said floor as the boxesdescend to move said member out of the path of the descending floor.

6. In a loom having a lay provided with a pair I of shuttle boxesseparated by a floor for the upper box and a vertically shiftabledownwardly yieldable actuator, the loom having provision for downwardreplenishment of the shuttle in the upper shuttle box while the lowershuttle box is empty and the shuttle binder of said lower box is in thepath of a shuttle entering the lower box, a bobbin chute secured to theunder side of the shuttle boxes and connected to said actuator, a lockmember pivoted to the lay and having a nose for engagement with andmovement by the shuttle binder, cooperating parts on said member andsaid bobbin chute to be in v mutually engaging position to preventdownward movement of the shuttle boxes with respect to the lay when theshuttle binder is in said shuttle path, entry of a shuttle into thelower shuttle box moving the binder and causing the latter to move saidmember to cause relative movement of said cooperatingparts tonon-engaging position, a cam on said member above said nose forengagement with said floor as the shuttle boxes descend to move saidnose out of engaging position with respect to said floor, and a secondcam on said member below said nose to engage said floor for movement bythe latter of the nose out of the path of said floor as the boxes rise.

'7. In a loom having a lay provided with a pair of shuttle boxesseparated by a floor for the upper box and a vertically shiftabledownwardly yieldable actuator, the loom having provisionfor downwardreplenishment of the shuttle in -the upper shuttle box whilethe lowershuttle box is empty and the shuttle binder of said lower box is in thepath of a shuttle entering the lower box, .a. bobbin chute secured tothe underside of the :shuttle boxes and connected tosai'd actuator, alock member-pivoted to the lay 'inposition for engagement with andmovement by'the shuttle binder, cooperating parts on said member andsaidbobbin chute tobe in mutually engaging position to prevent downwardmovement of the shuttle boxes with respectto the lay when the shuttlebinder is in said shuttle path, entry of the shuttle into the lowershuttle box moving the binder and causing the latter to :move saidmember to cause relative movement of said cooperating parts tonon-engaging position, and means on said memberior engagement with saidfloor to move said member out of the path of said floor as the shuttleboxes rise and fall.

BENJAMIN'W. BROUWER.

